ABSTRACT
The work of social scientists is being transformed by the increasing use of new technologies. For thirty years, the computer in the social sciences was traditionally a tool for analyzing quantitative data. Now, however, massive increases in computing power at declining cost put onto the desks of users ways of dealing with topics and problems thought traditionally to lie beyond the scope of computers (Brent 1993, Blank 1991). Indeed, few areas of research, teaching or scholarship now remain untouched by developments in information technology. This book seeks to examine some of these new developments, to bring them to a wider audience, including potential new users, and to assess their possible impact, good or bad, on how social scientists go about their work.
